Hundreds of number plate combinations that are potentially offensive or in poor taste are banned from being used each year, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has said.

The list of withheld registrations includes combinations which should never be seen on the roads, including any that end with the three letters ARS or DAM and those that are specific to the year.

There is a long list of plates that have been banned because of offensive language or for political, racial or religious reasons.

The DVLA chooses which plates pass inspection and which should be banned in a meeting held twice a year before each bi-annual plate change.

Read below for the list of outlawed plates - and please be warned, the banned list does contain plates that appear to spell out some explicit words.

Anything with "BNP" is banned Censors decide which plates should be banned due to their explicit nature or potential to be offensive for political, racial or religious reasons, including anything ending in BNP.

If a would-be banned plate does slip through the net, the DVLA has the power to force its removal and replacement with a new registration, Wales Online reported.

Plates can be banned regardless of whether they are standard or personalised. According to Carbuyer.co.uk prohibited plates include “JE55 US”, “15 LAM”, “OS55 AMA” and “AD13 CTS”, along with any plate which could have political connotations like “EU16 OUT”, “EU16 GON” and anything containing “BNP”.

A DVLA spokeswoman said: “There’s nothing scientific about it, it’s all done by taste, and if some slip through and we get a complaint, we take the feedback on board.”

The new “18” plates have meant that a whole new range of number plates have been completely banned.

The DVLA does not publish a complete list of banned number plates, but it has revealed some of those banned this year.